Personal Reflection from Pride Sunday 2024

 When I was asked to share my personal witness about why I joined the Affirm Council I must admit I felt a bit overwhelmed. It has been a journey. 

A number of years ago, pre-Covid, one of my children let us know that they were gay. I was surprised and I felt a number of emotions. Why did they wait so long to share this with us? How will they be treated moving forward? How would my extended family behave? I was worried.

After much thought, I came to the realization that what really matters is that my child is a unique human being and they deserve to be loved, respected and live their best life.
After a time, I was sad to learn that they felt the need to hide their true self throughout high school and did experience some bullying. I also became increasingly uncomfortable with the way the Queer community were treated by my previous church home. Queer people were allowed to attend the Church but they were not allowed have any significant other relationships. This is not acceptable. 

After I did some research, I learned that the United Church was a church that welcomed the LGBTQ+ community. I also learned about the Affirming process and what that entailed.
Soon after, I met Rev. Cindy. Her passion for welcoming the Queer community and creating a safe and respectful environment is what I believe all Churches should incorporate. This to me, reflects Christ’s teachings.

Earlier this year, I officially joined join KUC.  I needed to find my niche and contribute to the Church in some way. Since hearing what my child experienced and hearing about other LGBTQ+ issues in the news, I felt the need to be a part of positive change.  The Affirm Council seemed a good fit, it would provide a way for me be an agent of change and represent Christian values.

I will leave you with this verse from scripture:
1 John 4:7-8
7 Beloved, let us love one another, because love is from God; everyone who loves in born of God and knows God.
8 Whoever does not love does not know God, for God is love.

And to quote Ru Paul:
If you can’t love yourself how in the world are you going to love somebody else? Can I get an amen up in here?

Thank you.

Advent 2022 - Searching For Joy

What do Woman Engineers and Drag Queens have in common? Until recently, I hadn't really thought about it, but two items from CBC on December 6 gave me some clarity. Let me explain.

In the Christmas Newsletter for KUC, in 2017, there was an appeal for volunteers to join the new Affirm Leadership Team. I looked at it, thought about it, and couldn't not volunteer. In the early seventies, I was an engineering student, one of about 60 woman in the University of Waterloo Faculty of Engineering.  I knew about being discriminated against because I was different. I don't think anyone should be treated that way. 

December 6, as we well know, is the Day of Remembrance, the anniversary of the Montreal Massacre. Those 14 women died and 14 more were injured  because they were different. When I heard about it, in 1989, I cried for them, and for their hopes and plans, lost to hatred because they were different. I cried again, as I listened to one of the survivors, on As It Happens, this week.

https://www.cbc.ca/radio/asithappens/nathalie-provost-louise-penny-1.6674734

So, how do Drag Queens fit in?

Lately there has been organized protests against Drag Queen Storytime and other Drag Queen family focused events.  Social media has made it so that groups think that seeing campy people dressed in wild costumes read stories to children, who are often also dressed up in costumes, will somehow cause the children to "turn gay".  Some think that the Drag Queens are pedophiles and the storytime is grooming the children. Their solution is to come to these events and scream hatred at the children and their parents. 

A couple of weeks ago, in Vancouver, a storytime at a community centre attracted protesters, but also counter protesters, who sang songs and played instruments to try to drown out the hatred and protect the parents and the children.

 

https://vancouver.citynews.ca/2022/11/26/kitsilano-drag-queen-story-protest/

 

The performers at these events are starting to fear for their safety.

https://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/kitchener-waterloo/crystal-quartz-drag-show-brunch-1.6674187 

In the US, protesters at these events have shown up with guns. The pictures are terrifying. After the recent disclosure that there were weapons found in vehicles during the protests here, in February, is it just a matter of time before that happens in Canada at a Drag Queen event? 

We are all made in God's image. I can see the image of God in this picture, and I am sure it can be seen on the faces of the children in the audience.

I love the book she is reading, in the picture, It's Okay To Be Different. We need to send a clear message to our community that it is okay to be different, and it is not okay to threaten harm to those who are different from you.

In the words of William Wadsworth Longfellow

The Wrong shall fail,
The Right prevail,
With peace on earth, good-will to men.
 

May it be so.

CBC Show : Sort Of

 

 

CBC TV Show - SORT OF - This TV show follows Sabi, a gender-fluid Pakistani Canadian living in Toronto. 

 Broadview magazine states, it drew "widespread praise for its honest portrayals of queer and trans people" and won many Canadian awards. 

 Watching the 2021 episodes, I found myself laughing out loud. Check it out at https://gem.cbc.ca/media/sort-of/s01  

The second season will be released on November 18, 2022.

Book Review: love lives here

 

love lives here, A Story of Thriving in a Transgender Family.
By Amanda Jetté Knox

This is the story of a family of five living in Kanata.  Amanda Jetté Knox writes with honesty and sincerity about her family and how they are thriving because they “lead with love”.  

Her book is a very easy read and has broadened my understanding of people who are transgender in the hope that I may learn to live up to Kanata United’s commitment of being a caring and inclusive community.

I highly recommend love lives here. It is suitable for young adults and adults. It is available in the church library and from the Ottawa Library

Link to Ottawa Public Library :

https://ottawa.bibliocommons.com/v2/record/S26C1165854

Pride Parade - 2022

 

Once again, folk from Kanata United walked with other area United Churches as a show of solidarity with the LGBTQ2+ community in Ottawa. This is the third time we have participated in this event. It is a great way to publicly affirm our beliefs.

Pride parades are very upbeat, loving, and fun activities. If you have never been, think about joining us, next year.

Trying to Turn Back The Clock

On March 14, Affirm United asks Affirming congregations to take part in PIE Day. PIE stands for Public, Intentional, and Explicit in our support of all people.

It is interesting that in the last couple of weeks, some American states have been working to turn back the clock and force young LGBTQ2+ individuals to hide who they are. 

The Florida "Don't Say Gay" law has been featured prominently  in the news lately. Here is a balanced view of what it says:

https://www.forbes.com/sites/carlieporterfield/2022/03/08/dont-say-gay-bill-passes-florida-senate/

Many young children come from families where their siblings, parents, aunts and uncles,  even grandparents are gay. What would educators be doing to these little people, in denying the existence of their family? What are they doing to students who are gay?

In Texas and many other states, legislators are trying to ban access to gender affirming medical treatments for transgender youth. Texas has gone so far as to call obtaining medical treatment for your child "abuse", threatening to seize children from their parents. 

https://www.washingtonpost.com/politics/2022/03/10/texas-trans-kids-abortion-lgbtq-gender-ideology/

In one study 40% of transgender adults reported that they had attempted suicide. Nearly all had attempted suicide before they were 25. These laws can only exacerbate this situation.

As Affirming Christians, we need to protect all children from those who would try to prevent them from becoming who God meant them to be. We must be public, intentional, and explicit in telling those in authority that we want a world where all children are safe to explore who they are and who they can become.

Let's Celebrate!

On December 19, we will hold a service of celebration, both in person, in the sanctuary, and on Zoom, to mark the start of our Affirming Ministry. We are inviting other Affirming Congregations to join us. We will have a guest speaker, special music, and we will receive our certificate, designating us as a member congregation of Affirm United.

Unfortunately, the cake will have to wait ( we are hoping it can be part of our Pride service in June).  So here is a virtual cake, for now. If you click on the picture, it will take you to the recipe, if you would like to make your own.